The Dallas Cowboys hit the jackpot when they drafted Micah Parsons in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft as he has been an All-Pro every season. A year later, they took Sam Williams out of Ole Miss in the second round, giving them a potential dynamic duo for the foreseeable future once he develops.
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It’s been two years now, and Williams has shown signs of why he was such a premium draft pick. Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus has seen enough to label him as the Cowboys’ most underrated player.
Williams continued to flash potential in his second NFL season as a situational pass rusher for the Cowboys. He generated pressure on 14.1% of pass plays during the regular season, which ranked 36th among edge defenders in the NFL. His PFF pass-rushing grade also ranked 41st at the position in 2023.
Williams played in 15 games and logged 273 snaps as a rookie. He racked up 22 tackles (10 tackles for loss), four sacks, nine quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries. He was pretty productive in his 303 snaps in 2023 as he tallied 26 tackles (five tackles for loss), 4.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in 17 games. That’s not too shabby for a guy who was fourth or fifth in the rotation on the edge for the Cowboys over the last two seasons.
The 2024 campaign presents a great opportunity for Williams. With Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler now with the Washington Commanders, Williams is in prime position to be the third guy off the edge behind Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. With Parsons being a moving piece at times, the Cowboys need another reliable edge rusher, and the power and athleticism of Williams can be that rushing the passer. However, Williams will need to develop a pass rush plan because he tends to get bottled up if his initial move doesn’t work. Also, he’ll need to get better at shedding blocks on a consistent basis and setting the edge against the run.
The Year 2 jump for Williams didn’t quite happen, but he has plenty of tools to work with for new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to fine-tune. If that happens in 2024, the Cowboys will be even more effective rushing the passer, which is something they’ve been pretty good at over the last two seasons racking up 100 over that span.
